VALCARTIER - Colonel Christian Rousseau, Commander 5 Area Support Group informed CF members and the residents of Shannon, a municipality bordering the base, about what has been done and will be done about the presence of TCE (Tetrachloroethylene) contaminates in the ground water, during a briefing February 5.
"What we shouldn't forget at this time is that the water from the taps in the garrison and the homes of Shannon is very good to drink," said Col Rousseau.
TCE is an industrial cleaning solvent. It was found in the soil of SNC Tec's private property and on the property of the DND research establishment.
In 1997, a contaminated well was closed and a new well built. Construction was completed in December 2000. At the time when Shannon officials discovered that some of its homes had TCE-contaminated water in their wells, 161 Shannon homes were using the garrison water system for their drinking water.
In the summer of 2004, a team of water treatment specialists will evaluate seven new technologies to find the most effective solution to the problem of TCE-contaminated ground water.
"Water quality is our number one concern, and the quality here even exceeds some standards; I myself drink it every day," said Daniel Stapleton, a water purification technician from the Public Works Workshop Valcartier Garrison Engineering Services.
"The water is tested every Tuesday, and a sample is also sent for analysis to an outside civilian agency. If a problem is found, we deal with it immediately."
By Sgt Cédric Hamel
Photo: MCPL/CPLC RON FLYNN
